Intercalating machine for sheets



May 24, 1966 o. MARANGONI INTERCALATING MACHINE FOR SHEETS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 16 1963 m N "J" O N I Q w f A $3 fix l ahwbwg kw L t %N% INVENTOR 0771 l7'a hfo 11 i BY Michael S. S'fflz'kefATTORNEY y 1966 o. MARANGONI 3,252,699

INTERCALATING MACHINE FOR SHEETS Filed April 16 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2United States Patent 3,252,699 INTERCALATING MACHINE FOR SHEETS OrueroMarangoni, Via Procaccini 20, Milan, Italy Filed Apr. 16, 1963, Ser. No.273,450 Claims priority, application Italy, Apr. 13, 1962, 7,671/ 62 6Claims. (Cl. 270-58) This invention relates to an intercalating or sheetstacking machine and more particularly to a machine which forms one ormore stacks from a plurality of sheets of different or distinct nature.The sheets are fed to the stacking stations of the machine by a conveyorand the machine is equipped with suitable synchronizing means and with anovel pneumatic pick up system to assure a completely self-containedoperation.

In the graphic industry sheets containing different prints or sheets ofdifferent nature have to be stacked in a certain given order. A typicalexample is a pile of sheets requ-ired for the forming of calendars andalmanacs; another example is a pile of sheets consisting of regularsheets with interlayers of carbon paper.

It is an object of this invention to provide a machine which willperform any such intercalating or stacking job in a simple and reliablemanner.

The machine according to the present invention includes a framecomprising three or more gatherers to which a reciprocating motion canbe imparted relative to a stationary bed, and a plurality ofcompartments connected with each other to form an endless belt andmovable jointly in one direction. Each of these compartments holds astack of identical sheets and the sequence of sheets in the variouscompartments corresponds to the sequence in which they are supposed tobe stacked in the gatherer.

The above compartments are movably supported below said bed. The sheetswhich are located in the compartments are picked up by vacuum pick-upswhich are lowered in synchronization with the movement of the upperframe to pick up the required sheet from the respective compartment, andto lift the sheet so that the same can be deposited into thecorresponding gatherer which in the meantime has been moved to belocated below the respective pick-up.

For instance if 14 different sheets are to be stacked automatically in acertain predetermined order to form for instance a calendar, with onesheet for each month and a cover for back and front, 14 different stacksof sheets will be arranged in 14 compartments according to the requiredsequence, namely the back cover, the December sheet, the November sheet,and so on and finally the top cover. When the machine is put intooperation the back cover will first be picked up by the vacuum pick-upfrom its respective compartment, it will be lifted and deposited intothe gatherer. This is achieved by moving up the pickup holding therespective sheets and moving forward the respective gatherer which atthe same time will drag along the whole row of compartments by one stepso that the December sheet is now located below the pick-up which justlifted the back cover. After the back cover has been deposited on thegatherer, the gatherer is moved back to its original position and therespective pickup is now free to pick up the December sheet which is nowaligned below the pickup. Similarly, sheets located in the followingcompartments are picked up and deposited into the respective gatherer inthe predetermined sequence.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automaticallyoperating system which will adjust the vacuum of the pick-up to suit thepaper which is being picked up. This means that the machine will adjustthe vacuum according to the requirements of the paper or the cardboardto be lifted from the respective compartment by the vacuum pick-up.

Each compartment is equipped with an adjustable cam designed to controlthrough suitable means, for instance through a cone valve, the vacuum tobe used for lifting of the paper or cardboard stacked in that respectivecompartment.

A further object of this invention is to incorporate into this machine aspecial device designed to overcome the natural adhesion of sheets andthus to prevent that more than one sheet is picked up.

Other features and many of the advantages of this invention will bereadily appreciated as the invention becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description and considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings. It is however, to beunderstood that the description and drawings are given only as anonrestr-ictive example of the scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the intercalating machine.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the same machine.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same machine.

FIG. 4 shows the adjusting device for control of the vacuum in thepick-up.

FIG. 5 shows details of the pawls engaging the chain which moves thecompartments.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the arrangement of the windows inthe compartments.

FIG. 7 is a cross section taken on line VIIVII of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a detailed plan view of the drive unit for the carriage andthe pick-ups.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the same unit.

The intercalating machine according to the present invention includes asupporting frame 1 whereon a further frame 2 provided with parallelwindows 3 is superimposed. Frame 2 holds also a plurality of gatherers11 each mounted on the frame 2 adjacent to one of the windows 3. Frame 2moves slidingly in relation to frame 1 by means of side rollers 2a alongtwo L-shaped guides 2b, which are secured to the supporting frame 1.

The row of compartments 4 arranged side by side is slidingly supportedbelow said frame 2. Each compartment is connected to two endless sidechains 14 disposed to travel over pulleys 5. Two pairs of pulleys 5 areprovided, one pair on either end of the frame for guiding the chains 14along an endless path.

Posts 6 are mounted in pairs on the upper side of frame 1, each pairbeing spaced substantially equally from the other pair. Each of thesepairs of posts 6 relates to one of the windows 3. Each post is providedwith vertical guides in which is fitted the frame 8 which serves as asupport for a plurality of suction pipes 9. The lower end of eachsuction pipe is equipped with a suction disc. The pipes together withtheir vertical guides are movable between an upper position and a lowerposition. In the lower position the suction discs are in contact withthe sheet contained in the compartment 4 which at that time is alignedwith the respective vacuum pick-up.

The vertical movements of the frame 8 holding the suction pipes issynchronized with the horizontal movement of the gatherers; moreprecisely, the suction discs or the vacuum pick-ups are moved downwardlyonly after the windows 3 have become aligned with the vacuum pick-upsthus allowing the vacuum pick-ups to freely contact the sheets locatedin the respective compartments and to lift the sheets from thatcompartment through the windows for subsequent depositing of the sheetsinto the gatherers 11.

The frame 2 which is slidingly supported on the upper side of thesupporting frame 1 and which in turn holds gatherers 11 is provided withpawls 12 having their upper ends hinged at 12a to frame 2. The lower,pointed end 13 of each pawl is designed to engage with the links 106 ofthe respective chain 14 and to drivingly move this chain in onedirection whereby the compartments 4 are also driven in the samedirection. In FIG. the pawls are shown to be designed to drive saidchain 14 in the direction of arrow B, whereas they will not move thechain 14 in the direction of arrow A. Thus an advance of the frame 2 inthe direction of the arrow B will move the chain 14 the same distance asthe frame 2 and pawls 12 have been moved.

Since the displacement of the upper frame 2 induces the movement of thechain 14 and of the compartments 4 and puts these compartments in aposition in which the suction discs can be brought down to thecompartment and can pick up the respective sheet for lifting the sheetand for depositing it in the respective gatherer, the complete movementof the machine is properly synchronized.

The frame 2 is driven by a crank and a set of linking rods. The crank 15consists of a crank pin 16 fitted on a wheel 17 and driving a first rod18. Rod 18 is pivotally connected with lever 19. Lever 19 is pivoted at20 on the frame 1 and pivotally connects at its upper end with rod 21.The rod 21 is connected by means of a universal joint 22 with the frame2.

Each of the supporting frames 8 is moved along the vertical guides ofthe posts 6 by a crank 23 to which the respective frame is connected bymeans of a connecting rod 24. The individual cranks 23 of the individualsupporting frames are interconnected by means of sprocket wheels 25 andsprocket chains 26 and are arranged for simultaneous rotation.

The cranks 23 which induce the vertical movement of the frames 8 and thecrank 17 which induces the horizontal movement of the frame 2 are drivenby a speed reduction gear 30 (see FIG. 8) which is suitably connected toa prime mover 32 for instance by a V-belt drive 31. The output shaft ofthe speed reduction gear 30 drives a gear 33 which is constantly in meshwith two pinions 34 and 35 the rotational movement of which may betransmitted to associated shafts 34' and 35' through a pair of earns 36acting against spring 37 located on shafts 34 and 35, respectively.

The cams are released by dogs 38 and 39 which in turn are operated bytwo separate pawls 40 and 41 firmly attached to wheel 33.

The pawls 40 and 41 are arranged in such a manner that only one dog at atime can be operated by its respective pawl. By this arrangement the twoshafts 34' and 35' can be operated only one at a time. This means thatone of the shafts can be put into operation only after the other shafthas been stopped. This arrangement is particularly important forsynchronizing of the horizontal motion of the carrying frame 2 and thevertical motion of the frames 8 on which the suction pipes and suctiondiscs are mounted.

An adjustable cam 50 fitted on one side of each compartment 4 isdesigned to adjust the suction of the pickups to the requirements of thepaper or cardboard in the respective compartment. This is done forinstance by means of a tappet 51 and of a cone valve 42 which areoperated by the cam 50 of the respective compartment. In this manner,the cam 50 will adjust the suction to the requirements of the paper orcardboard from which the sheets 43 located in the respective compartmentare made.

On both ends of each suction system 9 are provided suction discs 9'disposed to align with downwardly inclined windows 44 formed on bothsides of each compartment 4. The vacuum in the suction cup 9' will forcethe air in compartment 4 to move through the windows as indicated byarrows in FIG. 7 and will thus create a vacuum by which all sheets 43except the most upper one are held down in the compartment so that onlythe uppermost sheet is picked up by the suction discs. In other words,the side edges of the sheets 43 are held down by a downwardly directedair stream created by the vacuum. This arrangement has shown far betterresults than those obtained by other known devices, like for instance bya photocell device, a sequence meter or the like.

The operation of the automatic intercalating machine is clearlyunderstandable from the description of the different components thereof.The principle applied in this invention is to synchronize the horizontalreciprocal movement of the carrying frame, the horizontal onedirectional movement of the compartment chain and the verticalreciprocal movement of the carrying frame 8 in a manner by which thesheets are picked up in sequence from the compartments and deposited inthe gatherer in the required order.

It should be understood that the foregoing disclosure relates to oneembodiment of the invention and that it is intended to cover all changesand modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for thepurpose of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from thespirit and scope of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An intercalating machine for assembling a plurality of different typesheets in a specific sequence into at least one stack from a pluralityof other stacks each containing sheets of one type, and in which saidother stacks are arranged spaced from each other in said sequence, saidmachine comprising, in combination, a support; frame means mounted onsaid support movable in one direction from one to another end positionand in the opposite direction back to said one end position, said framemeans being formed with at least one window for the passage of a sheettherethrough and being adapted to support said one stack laterally fromsaid window; transport means mounted on said support beneath said frameand adapted to support the other stacks spaced from each other in saidone direction, said transport means being intermittently movable in adirection parallel to the movement of said frame means; pick-up meansmounted on said support movable in a direction transverse to said onedirection be tween an upper and a lower position; drive means; firsttransmission means connecting said drive means with said frame means andsaid pick-up means to move said frame means between said end positionsand to move said pickup means from said upper to said lower position andback to said upper position while said frame means is in one of said endpositions in which said window is aligned with said pick-up means; andsecond transmission means for connecting said frame means to saidtransport means for moving the latter in said one direction during themovement of said frame means in said one direction to align a differentone of said other stacks with said window during each movement of saidframe means to 'said one end position.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said transport meanscomprises an endless chain mounted on said support means for movementalong a path parallel to said one direction; and a plurality ofcompartments connected to the chain for movement therewith andrespectively adapted to support said other stacks.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said first transmissionmeans comprises first connecting means between said drive means and saidframe means; second connecting means between said drive means and saidpickup means; and means for alternatingly connecting said drive means tosaid first and second connecting means so that said drive means willdrive said frame means while said pick-up means remain at standstill andvice versa.

4. A machine as set forth in claim 3 in which said second transmissionmeans comprises at least one drive pawl pivotally mounted on said framemeans and drivingly en 3,252,699 5 6 gaging said chain only duringmovement of said frame References Cited by the Examiner means from oneto another of its end positions.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said pick- UNITED STATESPATENTS up means includes suction means adapted to lift the upper-2,542,089 2/1951 f r 27058 most sheet in the respective other stack bysuction dur- 5 2,709,584 5/ 1955 Kleinberg 270-53 ing movement of saidpick-up means from said lower to said upper position thereof. EUGENE R.CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 5, and including WILLIAM B PENNExaminer means in said compartments for regulating said suction means.10 N. M. ELLISON, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN INTERCALATING MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT TYPESHEETS IN A SPECIFIC SEQUENCE INTO AT LEAST ONE STACK FROM A PLURALITYOF OTHER STACKS EACH CONTAINING SHEETS OF ONE TYPE, AND IN WHICH SAIDOTHER STACKS ARE ARRANGED SPACED FROM EACH OTHER IN SAID SEQUENCE, SAIDMACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A SUPPORT; FRAME MEANS MOUNTED ONSAID SUPPORT MOVABLE IN ONE DIRECTION FROM ONE TO ANOTHER END POSITIONAND IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION BACK TO SAID ONE END POSITION, SAID FRAMEMEANS BEING FORMED WITH AT LEAST ONE WINDOW FOR THE PASSAGE OF A SHEETTHERETHROUGH AND BEING ADAPTED TO SUPPORT SAID ONE STACK LATERALLY FROMSAID WINDOW; TRANSPORT MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT BENEATH SAID FRAMEAND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE OTHER STACKS SPACED FROM EACH OTHER IN SAIDONE DIRECTION, SAID TRANSPORT MEANS BEING INTERMITTENTLY MOVABLE IN ADIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID FRAME MEANS; PICK-UP MEANSMOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MOVABLE IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO SAID ONEDIRECTION BETWEEN AN UPPER AND A LOWER POSITION; DRIVE MEANS; FIRSTTRANSMISSION MEANS CONNECTING SAID DRIVE MEANS WITH SAID FRAME MEANS ANDSAID PICK-UP MEANS TO MOVE SAID FRAME MEANS BETWEEN SAID END POSITIONSAND TO MOVE SAID PICKUP MEANS FROM SAID UPPER TO SAID LOWER POSITION ANDBACK TO SAID UPPER POSITION WHILE SAID FRAME MEANS IS IN ONE OF SAID ENDPOSITIONS IN WHICH SAID WINDOW IS ALIGNED WITH SAID PICK-UP MEANS; ANDSECOND TRANSMISSION MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID FRAME MEANS TO SAIDSUPPORT MEANS FOR MOVING THE LATTER IN SAID ONE DIRECTION DURING THEMOVEMENT OF SAID FRAME MEANS IN SAID ONE DIRECTION TO ALIGN A DIFFERENTONE OF SAID OTHER STACKS WITH SAID WINDOW DURING EACH MOVEMENT OF SAIDFRAME MEANS TO SAID ONE END POSITION.